Enrollment
26
Alaska · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Mentasta Lake, AK
Mentasta Lake School
Federal NCES profile for Mentasta Lake School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 36/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 020005000026
👥 S:T ratio 74
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 4
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Mentasta Lake School earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 92% of Alaska schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Alaska schools.
- 36
- Resource Index · Typical
- 6.5:1
- small classes for Alaska
- 100.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 26
- students enrolled
Mentasta Lake School has class sizes smaller than 92% of Alaska schools. Computed live against every Alaska school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Alaska Gateway School District · Alaska
NCES ID 020005000026 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
4.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
6.5:1
vs 15.2:1 Alaska avg
-57% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 61.5% Alaska avg
+63% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mentasta Lake School compares with Alaska and U.S. medians
What stands out at Mentasta Lake School
Mentasta Lake School is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Mentasta Lake, Alaska, enrolling 26 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 6.5:1, Mentasta Lake School is leaner than roughly 92% of Alaska schools and 57% under the state's 15.2:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 100.0% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 26 puts it in the smaller third of Alaska schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 495 scored Alaska schools.
Against 26 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #17.
Its student body is predominantly American Indian / Alaska Native (100% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 0/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 38.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Alaska Gateway School District spends $40,337 per pupil, 21% above the Alaska average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 29.0% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Alaska Gateway School District also operates Tok School (183 students) and Alaska Reach Academy (62 students) alongside Mentasta Lake School.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Mentasta Lake School compares
Mentasta Lake School on the metrics families compare, against Alaska and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Alaska | Alaska avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 6.5:1 | ▼ 57% | 15.2:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 63% | 61.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 26 | top 84% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
6.5:1
Leaner classes than 97% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
26
Bigger than 3% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 63% above the Alaska average of 61.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
6.5:1
students per teacher
- 57% below state mean
Top 8% in Alaska - lower ratio than 92% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
38.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$40,337
per pupil, district-wide
- above Alaska avg of $33,240
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
American Indian / Alaska Native 100.0%
Largest group: American Indian / Alaska Native at 100.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 0.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 0.0, Mentasta Lake School is less mixed than the Alaska school average of 43.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Alaska Gateway School District, which includes Mentasta Lake School.
$40,337
Per student
+21%
vs Alaska
Avg $33,240
+143%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 2.6%
State 68.4%
Federal 29.0%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Mentasta Lake School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tok School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Alaska Reach Academy | Larger | No free-lunch data | No ratio data |
| Walter Northway School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Tetlin School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Dot Lake School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Mentasta Lake School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 183
- Students per teacher
- 11.4:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
- Enrollment
- 62
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 61/100
- Enrollment
- 59
- Students per teacher
- 11.8:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
- Enrollment
- 26
- Students per teacher
- 6.5:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 13
- Students per teacher
- 13:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Alaska, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~26 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~6.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Mentasta Lake School's federal record.
- Compare Mentasta Lake School against another school. Compare schools
- Alaska Gateway School District's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Mentasta Lake School
How many students attend Mentasta Lake School?
Mentasta Lake School has 26 students enrolled. It is a public school in Mentasta Lake, AK.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mentasta Lake School?
The student-teacher ratio at Mentasta Lake School is 6.5:1, which is 57% lower than the Alaska average of 15.2:1 and 59% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Mentasta Lake School?
100.0% of students at Mentasta Lake School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alaska average of 61.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mentasta Lake School?
The largest demographic group at Mentasta Lake School is American Indian / Alaska Native at 100.0% of enrollment, in Mentasta Lake, AK.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mentasta Lake School?
Mentasta Lake School has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Mentasta Lake School a good school?
Mentasta Lake School earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 92% of Alaska schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Alaska schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Alaska Gateway School District?
Besides Mentasta Lake School, Alaska Gateway School District also operates Tok School (183 students), Alaska Reach Academy (62 students), and Walter Northway School (59 students). See the Alaska Gateway School District district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.